President Obama stays the course on energy, climate

SOTU: Despite pleas from environmental groups to modify his energy rhetoric, President Obama stuck with ​“all of the above” in last night’s State of the Union address. In the speech, Obama also re-emphasized that ​“climate change is a fact.” (The Hill)

EFFICIENCY: How utilities are increasingly turning to school assemblies to help drive energy efficiency at home. (Midwest Energy News)

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ETHANOL: Iowa’s attorney general says the federal government ​“doesn’t have the authority” to reduce the Renewable Fuel Standard. (Des Moines Register)

OIL: Small investors are financing a mini oil boom in Indiana, and a pipeline company sues four Ohio homeowners in an easement dispute. (Indianapolis Business Journal, Youngstown Vindicator)

CARBON CAPTURE: Michigan considers lowering taxes on oil wells that are injected with carbon dioxide. (MLive)

COAL: A coal mining company plans a new power plant to supply mines in southern Illinois. It will be powered by natural gas. (McLeansboro Times-Leader)

ALSO: The company that sold five West Virginia coal mines will now turn its attention to fracking in Ohio. (Steubenville Herald-Star)

NATURAL GAS: A Florida company plans to build a $500 million natural gas plant near Cincinnati. (Cincinnati Business Courier)

BIOENERGY: A Wisconsin company is using waste from cheese production to generate electricity, and meetings in North Dakota this week will update farmers on efforts to develop a sugar beet biofuel industry in the state. (St. Croix 360, Associated Press)

FRAC SAND: An online petition seeks to ban frac sand mining in Wisconsin. (Madison Capital Times)

TRANSMISSION: FERC says 3,300 miles of new transmission lines were built in 2013. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC CARS: A Kentucky man becomes the first to drive a Tesla Model S across the U.S. as the company’s network of chargers nears completion. (San Jose Mercury News)

COMMENTARY: Why President Obama’s approach to climate action is ​“a step forward on one hand and a step back on the other.” (Grist)